The best ones don't lie, they manufacture reality and produce perception. They conjure illusion and produce hope. Each has their own audience willing to pay. The grandest of these wizards of illusion draw the most. Once they draw you into their circle, their tricks may be simple, but the effects are grand.
Yet they are merely mortals as were the kings and emperors of the past. They too stand alone in the Universe and beg for meaning and clarity. Perhaps it is their yearning which pronounces itself so loudly, that amongst the normal or regular in the crowd, they stand out.
Despite whatever hold that they may not have on you, the crowd demands a show and then demands that you hold your attention and tongue while they perform. You may stand above or beyond it, but their draw is real. They sit in rapt attention and feed the energy of the illusionist. Invariably the disappoint my come or reveal itself, but while the magic (if it can be called that) remains for a brief moment on stage, it stays in the heart of the viewer far longer than it probably ever merits.
When I look at the tripe surrounding Barack Obama, I'm reminded of Eliot Spitzer. Not in so much as the lasting legacy of hypocrisy that the latter may leave, but the illusions fostered by the followers who think the savior has come in the form of warm 'progressive' waves of succor. It is an illusion to think that the evil will be vanquished when GWB leaves. He left over a year ago anyway when the new race started.
Hope and change is the derision on everybody else's lips who do not buy into the illusion. They outwardly scoff and make no arrangements to believe despite the hushed and haughty optimism of the 'in' crowd. If he finally conjures himself into the White House, it might take years to diffuse the illusion the hagiography writers and commentators will produce. As the 'war' continues and the economic and fiscal disasters have no place to go, that audience to will fade and another illusionist will take the stage.
So, so true. And why otherwise sensible-seeming people just don't get this is a bit beyond me.
But then, as someone once said, you don't use your mind to think about your religion.
Here's the poster: http://illusions.wecanbelievein.com/